Breakdown of Es ist nicht der kalte Reis, sondern die warme Mahlzeit.
sein
to be
es
it
nicht
not
kalt
cold
warm
warm
sondern
but rather
die Mahlzeit
the meal
der Reis
the rice
Questions & Answers about Es ist nicht der kalte Reis, sondern die warme Mahlzeit.
Why do we use sondern here instead of aber?
In German, you use sondern when you are correcting a negative statement. The first part of the sentence says what something is not (nicht der kalte Reis), and sondern introduces the direct correction. If the first part isn't negative, or if you are just adding a contrast, you use aber.
Why do the adjectives kalte and warme end in -e?
Both adjectives come after a definite article (der and die) in the nominative case. After a definite article in the nominative case, adjectives take the weak ending -e.
Is Mahlzeit a feminine word because it ends in -zeit?
Exactly! Compound nouns in German always take the gender of their last word. Since die Zeit (the time) is feminine, die Mahlzeit (the meal) is also feminine.
Why does the sentence start with Es ist when Reis is masculine and Mahlzeit is feminine?
When you use the verb sein (to be) to identify what something is, you usually start with the fixed phrase es ist (it is) or das ist (that is), regardless of the gender of the nouns that follow.
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